Category: Education

A teacher of French Language, Oyeleso Idris and an educationist, Hajia Abibat Olumoh, have harped on the importance of teaching and learning French.

They spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, at an event to mark this year’s French International Day.

Explore Academy, a private Nursery and Primary School organised the event for its pupils.

Idris, a French lecturer at the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, urged the Federal Government to make French the second official language of the country.

He told our correspondent that “though Nigeria is an Anglophone country, but it shares borders with francophone countries”.

The lecturer added that the essence of learning and speaking French is for cultural interaction as well as commerce.

“We cannot, therefore, trade with francophone countries without speaking. It is beneficial for Nigerians to understand both English and French languages.

“The essence of the International French Day celebration is for togetherness and unification of French speaking countries worldwide,” Idris hinted.

Hajia Olumoh, who is the Proprietress of Explore Academy, advised parents to take keen interest in the education advancement of their wards.

“By marking the French day, we are using the forum to inculcate in our pupils cultural and linguistic diversity. Parents should encourage their wards at home not just about speaking English but also French,” she said.

As part of its Basic Education and Literacy programme, Rotary Club of Gbagada South has built a block of six toilets, borehole and  washing hand facilities, which cost over N5 million at Abule Ayo Primary School, Bariga, Lagos State.

Tagged Global Grant WASH project, it was executed in partnership with Rotary International (RI) Districts 9110, 9150 and 7680.

The club also donated a set of 20 computers and chairs worth over N8.5 million to Lanre Awolokun High School, Gbagada and planted trees at the nearby Oduduwa Junior High School to boost the state government’s greenery programme.

 The club’s new President, Ezekiel Balogun, expressed satisfaction with the projects, saying they were his first since he assumed duties on July 1.

He recalled that Abule Ayo Primary School had only latrines. “The place was an eyesore,” he added. He charged the schools to maintain them to encourage them to do more.

RI District 9110 Governor, Rita Ifeyinwa Ejezie, who was on an inaugural visit to the club, unveiled the projects.

She noted that Rotary is known for doing good and helping humanity and that education is one of the focal areas of Rotary.

She praised the provision of the computers, saying the idea was apt and timely in this digital age. She also charged the schools with the proper management of the items.

 saying that is what would make the club to keep coming back to them.

The Principal of Lanre Awolokun, Mr. Onifade Ayo Alani; his counterpart at Oduduwa Junior High School, Mrs Esan Obafemi, and Headteacher, Abule Ayo Nursery and Primary School, Mrs Christiana  Oluwamimo Adehoun,  praised Rotary for the gestures.They promised to take care of the items.

Also, the Director, Administration, Education District II, Mr. Popoola Olatunde and Secretary, Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), Martins Onakoya, thanked Rotary and assured of caring for the projects.

Meanwhile, the club also empowered some traders to boost their businesses. One received N100,000 and others N50,000 interest-free loans, payable after five months.

Lagos City Senior College, in collaboration with its Old Students’ Association and Parents’ Forum, has celebrated its 70th Founder’s Day Anniversary.

The platinum celebration was held at the school’s ultra-modern multipurpose hall.

Principal of the school, Mr. Hassan Abiodun, noted that the event was aimed at consolidating on the achievements of the school’s predecessors.

He lauded the efforts of the Old Students’ Association (North American Chapter) sets, National Body (UK Chapter), Old Students’ Youth Wing, Parents’ Forum, OmoDaadaa Foundation and Special Youth Foundation, and Dr. Emmanuel Okeke, who adopted and renovated four classrooms and provided 100 double-seaters in honor of his Economics teacher, Mr. J.B. Arowosegbe.

“One of the cardinal points of organising this event is for students to see their Alumni and see that they’re captains of industries. They should see them as role models. This school has produced greats Icons home and abroad,” he said.

Chairman, Lagos State Teaching Service Commission, Mrs. Victoria Peregrino, praised the state government’s efforts in providing world-class education.

Her words: “Lagos State Government is committed to high standard of education to meet world class level. This school happens to be one of the 12 newly established Comprehensive Colleges in the state and also a beneficiary of Lagos Scholars’ Agriculture Smart Project, an integrated three-in-one Agriculture project.

“I sincerely commend the kind gesture and commitment of Lagos State government towards this great college. We look forward to seeing more of these.”

Faith-based university, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Kwara State, Prof. Noah Yusuf,  plans to establish medical school with bias in natural medicine.

  Yusuf added that the programme would take off in the 2023/2024 academic session.

The vice chancellor addressed reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, to mark his third year in office.

He said the school was partnering  the Forest Research Institution of Nigeria (FRIN) on the matter.

He said: “The partnership with FRIN would further boost the specialty in natural medicine as the institute has a full-fledged herbal unit, which currently engages in researches in natural/herbal products. Academic activities are expected to commence as from 2023/2024 academic session.

“The university plans to use research as a core activity for promoting growth and positively impact on national development.

“This plan is to be achieved through expanding laboratory and research activities to optimal level; assist faculty members to increase publication of their research in high impact journals and sustain the disbursement of the newly-created Senate research grant to beneficiaries.

“The expected results of the efforts include enhancement of strategic partnership agreements with industries for research in the university and enabling resourced faculty members to win international and other competitive grants.”

Yusuf stated that in the last one year, the institution “has witnessed a remarkable increase in research output with focus on interdisciplinary studies and collaboration”.

Platform Schools, Ipaja, Lagos, will represent Nigeria at the International Chess and Spelling Bee Championships next month and in September.

The school will represent Nigeria in Kazakhstan, the host country, for the World Chess Championship.

A student of the school, Gideon Esene, will represent Nigeria in the Spelling Bee in Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE).

Also, Obe Amir, 11; Adekanye Adejuwon, 11; Popoola Taiwo, 11; Oluborode Isaac, 11, and Taiwo Daniel, 12 will represent Nigeria in Kazakhstan between August 2 and 8, 2023 for the World Chess Championship.

Proprietor of the school, Mr.  Bola  Obe, said to be selected as the representative of Nigeria after a rigorous exercise that involved several top schools from 36 states and the Fedreal Capital Territory (FCT), is something that is beyond extraordinary.

“I can’t describe how happy we are right as a school. It is a wonderful experience; very difficult to describe. It is ecstatic,” he said.

On the secret of the success of the school, he said: “Long-term preparation. We started the Chess programme some five years ago. We had regular training programmes and special intervention classes, which is basically using chess to drill students in creative thinking, problem-solving and the art of reading.”

He advised parents that mastery of the English Language, being an international language, could open great doors for children.

He noted that the game could be used to train students on how to solve real-life problems; address business issues such as dealing with competition, understanding business strategy, among others.

The Nigeria National Schools Team Chess Championship involved 15 schools from Lagos, and Oyo states and the FCT and held at Chrisland High School, Opebi, Lagos, last month.

Of the schools, Platform School, domiciled in Lagos State, emerged champion of the event, having claimed a perfect team result of 7/7 wins.

Former Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba has said the country’s education system must be tailored towards creating, rather than seeking jobs.

Ndoma-Egba added that education should be backed up with skill acquisition, noting that the world was fast moving past education for seeking jobs.

Speaking at the graduation of Start-Rite School, Abuja, the politician emphasised the need for inculcation of entrepreneurial mindset in students, adding that “education is about creating jobs”.

Start-Rite School was established in 2008 by his late wife, Amaka, to contribute her quota to the nation’s education sector.

The renowned lawyer said: “The wealth of a nation is not in their natural resources, not in their oil, not in their forex.

“The wealth of a nation is in their young men and women and their wealth is only if they are educated.

“Education for jobs is going out of fashion. We are now in an era where we have education for creating jobs. So, our education must be geared towards creating jobs and not seeking jobs.

“That is why here,we are working together with the Tony Elumelu Foundation to see if we can introduce entrepreneurship.

 “The foundation is supporting us in the realisation of this. We want to believe that by the time that we have trained our students in entrepreneurship, they will go into the world not seeking jobs but creating jobs for others.’’”

He advised the graduating students to strive to be the best among their peers, stressing that they have the potential to be the best among their peers.

Principal of Start-Rite School, Femi Akinlade, described the occasion as a milestone in its 15 years of existence.

“It’s a milestone because while we always graduate pupils from the primary school, this is the first graduation from the secondary school.

“The school started as an early -year primary school in 2008 but it was in 2018 that the secondary school was birthed. It was actually the project that brought me from Lagos and then first principal from Saudi Arabia. This is the first set of students that we groomed from the beginning. They have done very well. They have written the IGCSE examination and they did very well, they have written JAMB and they also did very well. Almost all of them have secured admission both at home and abroad,” he said.

He added: “Start-Rite Schools also has a scholarship programme for the top students. When we write an entrance examination, students who scored 90 percent, usually, we work out scholarship arrangements for them.

“Then, there is the Victor and Amaka Ndoma-Egba Foundation, VANEF, which work is to help out students who are not very privileged to be able to have some form of education.

“We also partner with entities like Elumelu Foundation, who has also given a lot of money both to the school and to VANEF to be able to help the underprivileged.”

Akinlade advised the federal government to leverage technology so that everyone can access education.

He also advised the graduating students to follow the path of other students that graduated from the school in the past years.

The House of Representatives has appealed to the Federal Government to instruct the National Universities Commission (NUC) to accredit the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu to award degrees in accordance with the Act governing it.

The House also mandated its Committee on Tertiary Education to ensure that NUC complies with the Act.

Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, while moving a motion on the floor of the House, reminded his colleagues of Section 6a of the Federal College of Dental Technology (Establishment) Act 2017  passed by the House and the Senate and assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017.

According to him, despite the enactment of the Act and the visit of NUC to the college on inspection tour of its facilities in 2020, the commission has continued to deny the college of its deserved accreditation to perform its degree-awarding functions.

The lawmaker expressed concern that NUC had insisted that the institution, which has been awarding OND and HND over the years, could only run degree programmes in affiliation with Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), despite its findings and report that the institution is well-equipped with manpower and adequate facilities to  award degrees.

He noted that whereas the institution was founded since 1955 to curtail capital flights and meet medical and manpower needs of the country, NUC’s refused to accredit the college for degree awards.

He said: “The House notes the National Assembly enacted the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy (Establishment) Act, 2017, and pursuant to Section 6(a) of the Act, the college is empowered to award degrees, diplomas, and certificates for courses provided for under the Act.

“The House further notes that the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy (Establishment) Act, 2017, which provided a legal framework for the college was established in 1955 and has been fully operational, was aimed at empowering the institution to help reduce capital flight on the one hand and service the critical medical and health manpower need of the nation on the other hand.’’

“The House is aware that the college, all along, has been funded by the annual national budget and is well-positioned both in manpower and infrastructure to take off in line with the new mandate as provided for by the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy (Establishment) Act, 201.

“The House is also aware that a visitation report from the National Universities Commission (NUC) confirmed that the College is fully equipped with the availability of adequate manpower and facilities to offer degree courses of study as required by the NUC and as such the College is duly qualified to fully function in line with the new mandate.

“The House is worried that despite meeting all necessary requirements, the National Universities Commission insists that the College may operate only in affiliation with the Federal University of Technology Owerri, thereby obstructing the full implementation of the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy (Establishment) Act, an Act of the National Assembly duly passed and given presidential assent in 2017, while also violating Section 4(1)(a) of the National Universities Commission Act, Cap N81, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”

The House, therefore, urged the Federal Government to direct the National Universities Commission to revisit the college, and provide the necessary accreditation as required by law to enable the full implementation of the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy (Establishment) Act, 2007 as a degree awarding institution.”

The National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) has vowed to address the failure in Mathematics and English Language courses in senior secondary schools through training of teachers.

Its Executive Secretary, Dr. Tyela Ajayi, stated this during the opening of a five-day capacity building training for selected English and Mathematics teachers in senior secondary schools from the Northwest Zone in Kano.

He said the objective of the training was to hone the skills of the teachers to enable them impart the needed knowledge on the students.

Ajayi explained that another objective was to ensure that they passed the subjects during their final examinations in secondary schools across the nation.

He said part of the commission’s mandate was to ensure minimum standard in senior secondary schools, develop a teaching manual for Mathematics and English Language teachers to enhance their methodology/pedagogical skills in the two core subjects.

”There is a ray of challenges that some teachers of Mathematics and English Language have the habit of skipping certain topics just because they cannot teach them.

“Thus making students to lack understanding in such topics. Hence, the persistent poor performance of learners during examinations,” Ajayi noted.

He added that the commission was compelled and dedicated to ensure quality education delivery with best global practices.

The Kano State Commissioner of Education, Alhaji Umar Doguwa, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Hajiya Kubra Imam, said the training was very timely.

He maintained that the state government would accord priority to the educational sector, geared towards having a bright future for the students who are the leaders of tomorrow.

Mrs. Hajara Mahmoud and Malam Tasi’u Auwal, participants of the training from Kano and Jigawa states, applauded the Federal Government for organising the training.

They pledged to utilise the opportunity to achieve the desired goals.

Three inmates of Kuje Correctional Service have graduated from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) with degrees and diplomas in various disciplines. The inmates were presented with their certificates at a special convocation ceremony organised by the NOUN at the Kuje Custodial Centre in the FCT.

The graduands were Dabu Christian-Picador, who bagged Bachelor of Science Degree in Entrepreneurship and Business Management, Nurudeen Na’Allah, B.Ed Primary Education, and Jacob Olom, PGD Business Administration.

In his remarks, the Controller General, Nigeria Correctional Service, Mr. Haliru Nababa, said the event was a testimony of the opportunities available to inmates to plan their lives and come out of correctional centres as better citizens.

 He said education remained a very powerful transformative tool for individuals and society, and urged inmates to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the partnership between NCoS and NOUN to acquire new certificates.

 Nababa, who was represented by the Controller of Corrections, FCT Command, Ibrahim Idris, said the three inmates have upgraded themselves and would have no fear of stigmatisation wherever they find themselves after their release.

He appreciated NOUN for supporting the reform of inmates through education, adding that since the inception of the partnership, over 200 inmates have enrolled for tertiary education from the Kuje centre alone.

Nababa enjoined other inmates to take advantage of the free education and other vocational skills available to them, to equip themselves with knowledge and skills for a better future.

“Other inmates should take advantage of this free education to get themselves equipped for the larger society upon release.

“We appreciate NOUN for the partnership with the NCoS on the “Right To Education” project for the inmates, as enshrined in the NCoS Act 2019. The partnership is not only useful in the number of certificates issued, but also in helping to curb insecurity by making the inmates busy and hopeful of the future,” he said.

NOUN Vice Chancellor, , Prof. Olufemi Peters, congratulated the three graduates, saying it was a testimony of their commitment and determination to change their future.

Peters, represented by the National Coordinator, Special Study Centres, Mrs. Modupe Adesina, said in spite of their circumstances, the new educational qualifications would add value and prepare them for meaningful roles in the wider society.

The vice chancellor urged other inmates to also take up the challenge and improve and empower themselves for self-reliance.

The Director of the study centre, Francis Enobore called on the public to desist from stigmatising ex-offenders, but rather support them to reshape their lives to be more responsible citizens.